Betrayal & Rebirth
by GambitsJami
Summary: My X-Men fan fiction based loosely on the X-Men comic books with my own role playing characters added in. Sure it's a bit "Mary Sue" but I don't care. LOL It is my story after all.


It all started with the ultimate betrayal. Then the battle began. It didn't take long for the three of  
  
them to take out the majority of us. Kitty Pryde laid dead, a hole the size of my head blown thru  
  
her stomach by an optic blast from Cyclops. Xavier was out cold after a mental battle with Jean  
  
Grey. Near where I stood was little Jubilee, drained nearly to death by the woman I loved - no,  
  
change that, thought I loved.   
  
"Chere, dere's no need for dis!" I pleaded, looking at the woman known only as Rogue as she  
  
glared at me disdainfully.  
  
She laughed, a bitter bark of laughter that stabbed me in the heart like Sabertooth's claws. "Don't  
  
you get it, Cajun?" Her voice was full of sugary-sweet venom. "This is what we were always  
  
suppose to do you idiot. Ah never loved you." A finger came up and tapped her head. "'Fore I  
  
got here I drained a mesmerizer. With a little help from Sinister I've been able to use the powers  
  
to make everyone here my friend. I just loved laughing at you behind your back." Rogue drew  
  
closer, grinning wickedly as she reached for my face. I couldn't move, frozen in shock as I was as  
  
finally my real feelings came to me for the first time in years. Shame, anger, hatred for this woman  
  
in front of me. "Tell you a secret, sugah, Ah always could touch people. Ah just never wanted to  
  
touch someone as repulsive to me as you."   
  
Caught in the viper's glare, I didn't move as her fingers grazed my cheek. I could already feel her  
  
power working. I thought I could manipulate the kinetic field around myself so she and I could  
  
touch. I was wrong. She chose to make me believe that. Just like she and the others chose to  
  
make us believe they had lost their powers when they hadn't.  
  
I thought this was it. I was going to die at her hands. Then metal burst from her chest, causing the  
  
surprised look on her face as she began to cough up blood. The claws tore thru her, shredding  
  
lungs and heart. Then Wolverine, covered in blood and still healing wounds stood there.   
  
"You got to take better care of yourself, Gumbo," he said gruffly. I said nothing in return. Like  
  
me, he was feeling betrayed and hurt. In a shocking move of friendship, he slung an arm around  
  
my shoulders. "Thanks, Cajun," he whispered. I knew he wasn't talking about me saving Jubilee  
  
from death but because I had killed Jean Grey. Saving him from having to kill the woman who had  
  
also been playing with his mind.  
  
Hours earlier Xavier had come to us while Scott, Jean, and Rogue were out. He had discovered  
  
their betrayal, finally. The entire time they had been working for Mr. Sinister. Most of our  
  
missions and all the ones concerning the mad scientist shape shifter had been set-ups by them. All  
  
to make them seem better in our eyes. Jean was more powerful then she let on, able to hide their  
  
deceit for years from Xavier. It was only Psylocke's abilities that eventually uncovered the truth.  
  
Jean had gotten of all things a common cold, hampering her. But she thought since Psylocke was  
  
gone again she could still get away with the lies. Unfortunately for her, perhaps, in a way, for us  
  
as well, Psylocke returned and she picked up on what Xavier could not. So making up a pretense  
  
to send them away, he warned us.   
  
It was when we confronted them that the bloodshed began.  
  
In the end we had lost only Kitty. Everyone else was severely injured except for Wolvie and me.  
  
Little Jubilee had slipped into a coma we weren't sure she'd ever awaken from even with Rogue  
  
dead.   
  
That's when I started my investigation and found out the awful truth.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The waitress was not your stereotyped one you find in bad movies and soap operas. She was  
  
neither bitter nor roughly used by the world. Just a girl who had been stuck in one place and one  
  
job too long. Yet I could tell she enjoyed her job, especially when I was the only one there.   
  
"You want to know about Marie? Honey, you came to the right place." Jasmin said with a smirk.  
  
She was a beautiful woman with coco brown skin and light amber brown eyes that spoke of more  
  
then a few trysts or out and out rapes between the women who were her ancestors and their white  
  
"masters." Slavery, the cancer that's in the heart of the rose that is the South. "Marie was the  
  
biggest hooker that ever lived. Started when she was 10 years old. Half the men here over 30  
  
have been with Marie. And all of them caught the clap from that girl too."  
  
"Her parents make her do it?" I said, sipping on the coffee. Damn, but it was good coffee.   
  
Jasmin scoffed. "Sugah, no one could make Marie do nothin'. That girl was wild from the day she  
  
was born. And mean too. Soon as she was big enough to walk she thought nothing of beating on  
  
her father and mother."  
  
"Beatin' on dem? I t'ought it was de other way around."  
  
"Oh no, honey. That Marie, she was as mean as they come and her poor father couldn't even walk  
  
after the stroke he had. Had it just before she was born, he did. Poor man was completely bed-  
  
ridden." Jasmin waved a cloth that was stained with spilled coffee and food. "No, Marie, or  
  
Rogue as she liked to be called, 'specially when she was out walkin' the streets, was the beater.  
  
Best thing for this town when she left." The waitress leaned forward and whispered to me, despite  
  
the fact there was no one but the half-deaf cook to hear, "Drained her father to death with her  
  
mutant powers 'fore she left, Marie did." She nodded sagely. "And stabbed her mother in the  
  
stomach, leavin' her to die. When they leveled that ol' house they lived in they found 'bout thirty  
  
kids who've been missin' for years in this town and others buried in the basement. Apparently  
  
Marie drained them half to death then buried them with what life was left in them inside garbage  
  
bags. They all suffocated to death. Some of them were newborn babes. When the doctor's tested  
  
them they found out they were Marie's babies."  
  
Suddenly the coffee didn't taste so good, pushing it away I paid more then I had to. The extra  
  
was for the information. I thanked Jasmin and left, coldness running thru my veins.   
  
I began to travel farther then. Everywhere she had ever been. I looked up cases of missing people  
  
and children in the areas around the times Rogue had been there. Everywhere I found between  
  
five to ten children buried near wherever she had stayed. The horror on their rotting faces said it  
  
all. She had drained them half to death and left them to suffocate inside the bags.  
  
Back at the mansion Logan made the same grisly discovery on her favorite part of the mansion  
  
grounds. Xavier was already trying to make amends to the families of these slaughtered babes.  
  
The autopsies showed just what we feared. They weren't clones. It was the real Scott, Jean, and  
  
Rogue who had betrayed us. No implants. No signs of any form of mind control. They had done  
  
this of their own free will. Sinister had never controlled them at all. But they had controlled us.  
  
I couldn't go back to the mansion just now. I needed a break. So it was out to California I headed  
  
next. Not even following the trail, tough it went there as well. I spent most of my time at the  
  
beach. Just hanging out, smelling the fresh sea air. But my restlessness sent me towards the  
  
mountains.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lee Vining is a tiny little town near one of the entrances to Yosemite National Park. Most of it's  
  
owned by the Nicelys, the richest people in town. It over looked scenic Mono Lake, one of the  
  
saltiest lakes there is. The only thing that lives in that water is tiny brine shrimp. Sea gulls come  
  
here to nest. Every year is a struggle because LA takes a lot of fresh water from the streams going  
  
into Mono Lake, making it drier and saltier. If Mono Lake goes a lot of trouble comes including  
  
alkaline storms. Even the most hard-hearted person had to feel a stir of environmental  
  
consciousness as they looked out upon that lake and the large salt columns that lifted out of it and  
  
decorated the shore. About five miles out of Lee Vining, California, there's a road that crosses the  
  
395. If you go 55 miles to the right you'll eventually come to Hawthorne, Nevada. If you go left  
  
for five miles you'll come to the secluded resort known as Lundy Lake. Once the home of a gold  
  
mine know as the May Lundy Mine - named after Lundy's daughter, May. Lundy Lake is the first  
  
lake you see. Near the back of this canyon is several beaver ponds. Up a road closed to car and  
  
motor bike traffic is several more lakes. The May Lundy Mine is up there too. From it comes a  
  
stream of ice cold water. You can still find old mining equipment and such. The mine itself was  
  
barred off years ago, but people have dug out the top of the mine near the entrance so they can  
  
drop in or climb the bars down.   
  
Lundy gets it's power from it's own generator. You can't even run a hair dryer up here let alone a  
  
tv. Even cell phone signals can't find their way out of the deep canyon. During the fall when the  
  
leaves are changing colors and the kids are in school, this was the perfect place for an old Cajun  
  
to hide from the world. Though I did make one phone call. Seems that the Lee Vining high school  
  
burned down a couple years ago and the town didn't have the money to rebuild it. So the kids had  
  
to be bussed several miles and hours to Mammoth. I figured even though there was few if any  
  
mutants here Xavier might find the extra cash to help rebuild the school. I'd use my own money  
  
but I can't. If I tried my father might find me and the last thing I want to see is Jean-Luc LeBeau  
  
and hearing him say "I told you so."  
  
I needed the time to straighten my thoughts out. The woman I thought I knew and loved never  
  
really existed. It was all the product of mental manipulation that I had thought I was immune to  
  
and wishful thinking.   
  
So here I sat at one of the more secluded beaver ponds with a pole in my hands and an out of  
  
state fishing license. I was concentrating so hard on my own problems I never heard him behind  
  
me. I had no idea until I was lifted up and Victor Creed hurled me into the murky water. I stood,  
  
big mistake. The bottom of the beaver ponds was made of rotting vegetation, better known as  
  
quick mud. Within seconds of moving I was already waist deep. Many people had lost their lives  
  
this way.   
  
I refused to be one of them.  
  
Grabbing onto one of the rotting and sun-bleached trees that filled the water, I charged it, making  
  
it explode and launching me out of there. I tucked and rolled as I came down into a hill. Sharp  
  
rocks stabbing me as I tumbled down it.   
  
"You should learn to mind your own business, Cajun." Sabertooth snarled at me as he  
  
approached. "Maybe you would've lived a little longer if you didn't go digging into the past."  
  
"Dat's what you say, Tooth," I said, standing on wobbly legs. Even though I no longer needed it,  
  
a card slipped into my hand and charged just before I threw it. It hit old Tooth in the chest and  
  
sent him flying back. I decided that I was in no shape to fight Sabes and took that moment to try  
  
to run.  
  
Big mistake.  
  
Sinister must've tweaked old Sabertooth's DNA or something. He was on his feet and after me a  
  
lot quicker then usual. Normally I'd have something witty to say, but lately I hadn't felt very  
  
witty. I felt his breath on the back of my neck just before a claw slashed into my back and pierced  
  
my lung.   
  
I thought they were just hallucinations of death. Three women and a large falcon. The first three  
  
were riding on of all things, a rainbow. The falcon itself flew, clawing Sabertooth. I heard his  
  
roar.   
  
Now I could see the women. The first was dressed completely in green and black, hiding every  
  
inch of skin in a tight armor-like outfit. All I could see was the greenest eyes I had ever seen. She  
  
wasn't model thin and kind of short, but she had a ripe figure I would normally love. The other  
  
wasn't in a costume. She had dark red hair and was fat, yet there was an aura of beauty about her.  
  
The final one looked like a Morlock. Her skin was pasty white, blond hair that hung limply, her  
  
right eye a light crystal blue, the other such a dark green it was almost black. Like the second she  
  
was fat and she looked like she was coated in a thin coat of slime.  
  
It was the one in the costume that spoke first as a metal quarterstaff expanded in her hand. "Elain,  
  
Mar, heal him." She motioned to me before rushing after Sabertooth.   
  
The girls kneeled by me. The redhead had green eyes too, but lighter in color. Rainbow colored  
  
light escaped her hands and I felt filled with warmth. The other touched me lightly and I could feel  
  
the slime from her hands sink into my skin and fill my veins. I could feel my flesh knitting itself  
  
together. Every ache was slowly banished as the sounds of fighting went on behind me. I could  
  
hear another voice, this one a strange cross between masculine and feminine, shouting orders to  
  
someone called Aria, it must've been the first girl. I heard the sound of thunder just after a flash of  
  
lighting from a clear sky crashed down. Sabertooth howled in pain just as he started to retreat.  
  
"Let him go, Aria," the strange voice said. "We have other matters to attend to."  
  
"Yes, Ripdash." Aria replied.  
  
They came back and I couldn't help but gasp in shock - finding my lungs, damaged from years of  
  
smoking, where better then ever - at the sight of the one known as Ripdash. It seemed Ripdash  
  
was a hermaphrodite. He? She? looked in body like one of those female body builders, except  
  
Ripdash's breasts looked much bigger, even under the buck skin shirt he/she wore decorated in a  
  
traditional Navaho shaman manner. He/she also wore blue jeans and cowboy books, the black hair  
  
braided tightly. And on his/her face was a half-mask that only covered the forehead, nose, and  
  
cheeks, leaving brown-blue eyes to peer down at me.   
  
"Elain, blindfold him. We'll take him back to the retreat."  
  
"Don' I get a say in dis?" I asked as Aria helped me to my feet. The smell of this young woman  
  
made my head spin. She smelled of roses and wild flowers and when she looked up at me I felt my  
  
heart skip a beat. I realized that her eyes were really grey-green, but the green mask made them  
  
look greener. They were beautiful eyes.   
  
"No," Ripdash said in a harsh voice that brought me back to reality. "Elain, do it."  
  
"Sorry, handsome," Elain said, producing a blindfold, "but I got to do what the big bad Indian  
  
says."  
  
"I told you to not call me that." Ripdash snapped.  
  
Elain snorted as she stood on tip-toe to tie my blindfold in place. "Indian, Native-American, same  
  
difference, Rip. Either way you're a prick."  
  
I felt us flying and surprised myself by welcoming the grasp of Aria around my waist as she  
  
steadied us. Poor thing was so much shorter then me and I outweighed her by at least 50 pounds.  
  
But there she was, clinging to me with dogged determination. I had a feeling this girl was a  
  
trouble magnet and stubborn.  
  
We landed a little roughly. I didn't mind as it caused me to throw my arms around Aria and hold  
  
her tight. She did the same and I caught my breath. Something was going on here, I wasn't sure  
  
what, but I liked it.   
  
The blindfold was removed and I found myself looking at a mansion that could easily rival old  
  
Charley's. A man stood near the wall, apparently repairing something. He had to be easily 7 or  
  
even 8 feet tall. After a moment of looking at him I realized his right arm was fake. It was made  
  
of metal ending in a hand with a thick leather glove over it, kept on by a drawstring with a bead  
  
on it. He was hammering in a nail with the leather clad hand.   
  
"Hey, Pryce," Elain said even as the slime-covered girl tried to slide away and hide, "we have  
  
company." The redhead jerked a thumb at me.  
  
Pryce turned around and looked down at me with cinnamon syrup colored eyes. He was one of  
  
those men who'd soon be grey before his time but his smile was broad and a strange mixture of  
  
childish and wolfish. "Welcome to the retreat, sir, enjoy your stay. I'm Pryce London." He held  
  
out his fake hand, giving away the fact he must've been right-handed before losing the arm. I took  
  
it and felt hard metal under the glove. Then he leaned close to me and whispered, "Be careful, the  
  
entire house is filled with women. Geneva's got a habit of picking up strays."  
  
"Geneva?" I asked, though I think deep down I already knew whom it was.   
  
"Oh, you probably know her right now as Aria. But Ripdash wouldn't have brought you here  
  
unless Rip thought you could be trusted." Pryce chuckled and turned around, picking up another  
  
nail. "If you'll excuse me Mr....?"  
  
"Jus' call me - Remy." I don't know why I did that but somehow using the name Gambit didn't  
  
feel right.   
  
"Well, Mr. Remy, I've got lots of work to do. Enjoy your stay."   
  
Geneva, now maskless, stepped up to me. I sucked in my breath again. She was - beautiful. Clear  
  
creamy skin, those beautiful eyes that now looked grey without the mask. The smile that graced  
  
her Cupid's bow mouth was stunning. Long, curly blond hair tumbled down to her waist like a  
  
golden waterfall. "I hope Pryce wasn't bad-mouthing us already." She said, taking my arm gently.  
  
"Come on, Ripdash's assigned me to take care of you."  
  
I went without protest, allowing this beauty to lead me on a tour. Mostly she did introductions.  
  
And power descriptions.   
  
"My real name's Geneva Doheny," she began. "I'm an electropath. I control machines and minds.  
  
I also have a pseudo-telepathy. Ripdash is a Navaho shaman, no mutant powers, but lots of  
  
magical ones. The reason she wears a mask - oh, Rip prefers to be referred to as a she - is cause  
  
she has this third eye in the middle of her forehead that's extremely sensitive to light. Comes in  
  
handy when we fight people with dark force powers or at night. Elain controls rainbow force.  
  
First manifestation of that power we can find. She can do lots of things with it like healing. And  
  
the shy one, Marguerite, produces slime. She can make it hard but her best contributions are when  
  
she uses it for healing or when she produces her good luck slime which gives the receiver  
  
temporary good luck. Pryce back there is one of two mutant were-creatures here. He's a  
  
werewolf. Lost his arm in battle with a vampire with a silver sword. The other you'll meet later,  
  
Delphios Kodo, codename Kitsune. She's a werefox."  
  
"Why are you all out here in de middle of no where, chere?" Chere, I never thought I'd hear  
  
myself say that again, but it just came out naturally.   
  
"It's because of Pearl, codename Facade, and Ripdash. You've heard of Pearl Banks, the  
  
reclusive multi-billionaire?"  
  
Who hadn't heard of Pearl Banks? I know I had many times. Though I had never met her  
  
personally I heard about her from my father. Pearl had been orphaned at the age of 7 years old  
  
when her parents and kid brother were murdered and came to New Orleans to live with her very  
  
old billionaire cousin, Edwin Banks. Edwin was way over 100 years old when he finally died,  
  
leaving Pearl everything. The Thieves Guild had tried to rob Edwin more then once, but he always  
  
seemed one step ahead of them. No one knew why.   
  
I was about to find out.  
  
Pearl was actually the first one we ran into. She had strawberry-blond hair pulled into a tight bun  
  
and fog grey eyes. She was also a little shorter then Geneva and though beautiful not nearly as  
  
friendly.   
  
"Brought home another stray, Geneva?" Pearl said, tapping a foot contained in an expensive yet  
  
unattractive shoe. In fact, it seemed this girl went out of her way to appear unattractive. The hair,  
  
the lack of makeup, the shapeless grey business suit she wore - all made to detract from her looks.  
  
"We found him fighting Sabertooth." Gen explained.   
  
Pearl looked like she had been slapped in the face. Rage flared in her eyes and suddenly I realized  
  
who had murdered her family all those years ago. I knew that look all too well. "Where?" She  
  
whispered harshly, electricity sparkling across her skin.   
  
"Pearl," Gen said, pushing the hand gently away, "You know Rip's rules about you and  
  
Sabertooth."  
  
"Screw the rules!" Pearl snarled. "Where is he?"  
  
"Gone, petite," I said, bringing my own mesmerizing talent into play to calm the young woman  
  
down. "He be long gone. Dere's no way to find him now."  
  
The hermit billionaire backed away. "Next time you call me, Geneva." Then a flying carpet  
  
formed under Pearl's feet and away she went.  
  
"Pearl's got problems as you can tell. She's electro-magnetic, makes EM holograms mostly but  
  
we think she could learn to do other things if she'd try. But it drains her."  
  
"Drains her?" Curiosity drove me on as I filed away this information.   
  
"Yeah. See, there's something wrong with the Banks' genes. Most mutant children are either  
  
stillborn or miscarried. Only two lived to adulthood, Pearl and her cousin Edwin. Seems they need  
  
something to live. In Edwin's case it was the drug absinth. For Pearl it's caffeine. The world's  
  
first coffee-powered mutant. But the more she uses it the more caffeine she needs."  
  
That would interest Hank, I thought to myself. That was something I had never heard of before  
  
and I'm sure even Xavier hadn't heard of that one. But Gen's voice brought me out of my  
  
thoughts.  
  
"Let's see - who's left? Okay, there's Kylabyte, she's ten years old as far as we can tell. A living  
  
computer program. That's her mutant talent. Cheryl who creates swords from thin air. Mary, a  
  
minor pre-cog and our resident Sherlock Holmes. And finally there's Lethe." Gen paused there as  
  
if unsure if she should go on.  
  
"Lethe? Dat's and unusual name. Dat her real one?"  
  
Gen shook her head. "No - We don't know what her real name is. We found her with a severe  
  
concussion. Near as we can figure she was fighting Juggernaut. Lethe has complete amnesia,  
  
hence her name."   
  
"For de river Lethe dat ran thru the Greek underworld of Hades." I said as it dawned on me.  
  
"One drink could erase all your memories."  
  
Gen nodded, smiling. "Exactly. Only Lethe controls the density of her body. She can be so light  
  
she not only flies but goes thru walls and other such things or so heavy - well - she's dented the  
  
adamanitum floor of our training room more then once."   
  
Another shock. How had they gotten adamanitum? And a mutant who could actually dent it could  
  
give even Wolvie a run for his money. "Why you tellin' all dis to a stranger, chere?"  
  
"Ripdash told me to. She said you'll be important to us. The one who'll lead us to the beginning  
  
of our destinies."   
  
Prophecies - lovely. I hate prophecies. Prophecies had ruled and ruined my entire life. From the  
  
moment I was born until now. It caused the Thieves Guild to raise me, for me to marry  
  
Belladonna - and now this. Then again, I could think of a few places I wouldn't mind leading  
  
mam'selle Geneva to.   
  
Trying to get the blood back to my brain, I concentrated on Geneva's next words.  
  
"Of course there's three others you won't meet today. They'd in the field. There's Dee aka  
  
Salamandra, she's a pyrokinetic and a telekinetic. Then there's King - he came with Kylabyte. He  
  
looks and has all the talents of a king snake. And finally there's Fae - aka Heather O'Keef. She  
  
communicates with and controls plants and animals."   
  
As Gen led me around I did eventually meet the others she spoke of. Kylabyte looked a lot like  
  
her name and powers - even though she had a human form and shape, her skin, hair, eyes,  
  
everything was like tiny constantly shifting computer pixels. Watching her made me dizzy but Gen  
  
said I'd get use to it. Everyone did. Sweet kid, but you don't want to get close to her if you're  
  
wet. Lethe was overweight but somehow managed to still have an amazing figure. Perhaps there  
  
was more to her powers then she knew. She had long light red hair and green eyes. So far none of  
  
the women were close to me in height. Take Delphios, the half-Japanese half-Irish woman was  
  
only 4 feet 11 inches. She was lovely with jade green eyes and long brown hair, highlights of red  
  
shooting thru it. When she spoke there was just a tiny hint of Irish brogue in it. Not enough to  
  
warrant trying to write it out, but it was there.   
  
Cheryl was another story. A tall, willowy woman who at first appeared to be of African descent.  
  
But then she looked at me with crystal blue eyes and when she spoke I realized this girl was from  
  
the Big Easy herself.   
  
We had walked in on her practicing. A sword in either hand. She swung them in graceful arcs that  
  
reminded me of Wolverine's claws. The long black braid swishing out behind her as she did so.  
  
All of a sudden she turned, pressing the tip of a sword against my throat.   
  
"Who's dis, Geneva?" She said, looking at me emotionlessly. "'Nother one of your famous  
  
strays?"  
  
"No, Ripdash told us to bring him." Gen said with a sigh. Apparently she was quite use to this.  
  
"Cheryl, this is Remy, Remy, Cheryl."  
  
"Bon jour, mam'selle," I said, trying to be careful of the sword pressing against my throat. "T'ink  
  
you can put de sword away 'fore you poke an eye out?"  
  
Cheryl backed off, the swords absorbing back into her hands. "Bon jour, Remy. Welcome to de  
  
madhouse."   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I soon learned madhouse was the correct term for this place. Ripdash ran on a tight schedule for  
  
training. But that's where things ended. Pearl went out of her way to be mean to me as well as  
  
everyone else. Elain and Delphios soon revealed to me they were lovers and I couldn't go  
  
anywhere without seeing them all over each other. At first it was exciting, then disgusting. Finally  
  
it just got boring. I also found out Elain had an enhanced beauty talent. Though she was pretty  
  
enough without it, it was the talent that made her attractive.   
  
Geneva was just what I thought she was - stubborn and a trouble magnet. I often had to rescue  
  
her from her own mistakes. No one could fault her for her enthusiasm though. I watched her  
  
trying to help poor Margueite. It tugged on my heart strings and I realized I was finally healing  
  
from the wounds the betrayal had left in me.   
  
Little by little people's pasts were revealed to me. Ripdash's grandmother had lived on a  
  
reservation until a truck driver named Drew Crane whisked her away. He then turned from a  
  
loving husband to an abusing drunkard. Their first child, a boy, was born with severe mental  
  
retardation. The next, a girl and Ripdash's mother, was born normal. However when she hit  
  
puberty both Drew and her brother raped her. It was the brother who got her pregnant and was  
  
Ripdash's father. To make a long story short eventually Ripdash ended up on the reservation it all  
  
started at after his mother took the route of drugs and prostitution. (It's the accepted story that  
  
during Rip's birth her mother said "I'm so ripped, give me some hash" and somehow the nearly  
  
deaf doctor thought she said "Name the baby Ripdash.") Ripdash came from a long line of  
  
shamans and after running away and having her own time being a hooker, Ripdash eventually took  
  
up the mantel.   
  
Some, like Elain, had relatively normal pasts. Both her parents were mutants and she herself, like  
  
Mar, Pearl, and Delphios, was a precocious mutant - meaning they had been born with their  
  
powers. Delphios was also the daughter of two mutants, but unlike her lover, Del's parents had  
  
been killed by the Friends Of Humanity.   
  
Cheryl revealed eventually that she was more like Logan then I originally thought. She, too, had a  
  
super fast healing and could be as old at 200 years. Like me, she didn't go into details much. I  
  
gathered only that her mother had been French and Dutch and that her father was black. She had  
  
discovered her mutant powers when she was brutally raped by the KKK and left for dead. The  
  
swords came out too late to help her, unfortunately.   
  
King and KylaByte were the Californian version of the Morlocks. The snake-like King had a twin  
  
sister, Rattler, who was his mortal enemy just like real king and rattle snakes in nature. Lethe, of  
  
course, couldn't remember her past. More then once I thought about taking her to Xavier.   
  
Heather was born to her single mother on an Irish moor when her strictly Catholic village drove  
  
her out. She was a precocious mutant as well and when her mother died of TB Heather used her  
  
talents to take care of herself until her father finally found out about her. She was a blond too, but  
  
with a strange greenish tint.   
  
Dee was a little spitfire. She actually managed to be shorter then Delphios, no small feat, pun  
  
intended. With short red hair shot thru with golden blond and big smokey-brown eyes.   
  
But none of these women interested me as much as a certain trouble magnet.   
  
Geneva Doheny was originally born Geneva Jeeves. But when her mutant hating parents found  
  
out that their only child carried the X-Factor gene her life turned from the dream to a nightmare.  
  
From the age of three to the age of ten they beat her, starved her, locked her in a closet. It wasn't  
  
until she tried to run away and actually got hit by the car of Donna-Jean Doheny that my little Gen  
  
was saved.   
  
After a long court battle Geneva, or Child-X as the newspapers called her, was finally legally  
  
adopted by the Doheny's. Donna-Jean was a normal human who had lost her womb to cancer. It  
  
was while she was in the hospital that she met and eventually married Dr. Clyde Doheny, a mutant  
  
with healing abilities.   
  
I met Geneva's parents. They were a loving couple that didn't look a thing like their daughter, but  
  
they sure had her attitude.   
  
During my months there Donna-Jean had a relapse into the cancer and died. None of the healing  
  
talents of the mutants or Ripdash's magic helped. I held Geneva all night as she cried. Clyde lost  
  
his will to live and despite what we tried he soon followed his wife. He died of a broken heart.   
  
That was the night all hell broke loose.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Remy! Remy!" KylaByte screamed as she shot into my room. "Geneva's gone!"  
  
"What's new 'bout dat?" I tried to remain cool on the inside but inside I was worried sick.   
  
"Remy!" Kyla said, stamping her foot and causing sparks. "You know Gen never leaves when  
  
she's got a scheduled session. And especially not with having to plan her father's funeral too.  
  
Remy, you've got to find her. Mary said she was going to be in bigger trouble then normal."  
  
Mary Rose McCullen, the pre-cog. A nice but studious girl of Scottish descent. Though her  
  
powers were weak she was never wrong. Never.  
  
I stood and began to put on my armor and mask. Slipping a deck of cards in my pocket.  
  
"You going to go get her, Remy?"  
  
"De name, petite, is Gambit. Don' you ever forget dat."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Aria was a creature of habit, a dangerous thing for a hero. I warned her of this but it still didn't  
  
stop her from following her usual route. I could tell by the lack of crime in those areas. It was  
  
near the end of her route I found her - and him.  
  
"Ah, Remy, so good to see you." Sinister said. The red gemstone in his forehead glittering. "I  
  
have been looking all over for you. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were living with  
  
another bunch of mutants. Trying to start your own band of the X-Men?"  
  
"I've told you 'fore, Sinister, de name is Gambit. Don' you call me Remy." Though I spoke to  
  
him my eyes were on Aria. Behind her was Riptide, actually, his clone. She had been tied up and  
  
gagged, her own mask used for the latter. I think about how much she likes to sing - in fact, her  
  
talent for mind control only worked right now when she sang the commands. Which was why she  
  
was called Aria. I could charge Riptide's very skin now, thanks to Sinister, but if I did that I'd  
  
risk harming Aria. I can't risk that.  
  
"I see you noticed our guest. Quite a powerful mutant, actually, more so then she realizes."  
  
Sinister cupped her chin and jerked her face towards him. "She took out all my Marauders except  
  
Riptide here just by controlling Archlight, despite my own attempts to break the control. I shall  
  
enjoy adding her DNA to my collection."  
  
The card felt natural in my hand. It was the first time since the fight with Sabertooth that I had  
  
even held one. For the training sessions I used my more developed powers. That was what  
  
Sinister was expecting me to do.   
  
Instead I threw a charged King Of Hearts.   
  
It caught Sinister off guard, blowing him backwards. Aria and Riptide flew off to the side,  
  
separating as they did so. I ran to Aria, slicing her bonds loose.   
  
"Remy - Gambit - it's a trap." Aria said in a rush.  
  
Indeed it was. Sabertooth roared as he grabbed me by the back of the shirt and threw me into the  
  
opposite wall. The breath knocked out of me. Thru the starts shooting about my head I saw Aria  
  
do a perfect sweep that knocked Sabertooth off balance. Long enough for me to start charging his  
  
fur.  
  
Tooth roared in pain as his own hair follicles began to explode. Faster then his healing talent could  
  
keep up with. Aria ran only to be caught in the leg by Riptide's shirken.   
  
I grabbed her and began to run. Charging everything in sight, but Tooth, healed now, and Riptide  
  
were not far behind. I fell heavily as Sabes hit me in the back.   
  
I could smell his rancid breath as he leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I just want you to know,  
  
it was all Rogue's idea. Before she died she made Sinister promise to kill you. She hated you. But  
  
oh - how she loved me."  
  
Funny, I should've been angry. I should've been hurt. My heart should've broken again. Instead  
  
there was nothing but - apathy. It was seeing my hands stained with Aria's blood that brought the  
  
rage to a boil. Rolling over I threw Sabertooth off of me and began to pummel him with charged  
  
fists. Minor explosions ripping both of our flesh.   
  
Suddenly a huge hand ripped me off of Sabertooth and placed me next to Aria. Next to her  
  
kneeled Marguerite, healing her. Pearl, or Facade as she was known in the field, stood there,  
  
glaring at Sabertooth.  
  
"He's mine," Facade growled. "I knew you'd lead me to him, Gambit."   
  
Tooth sniffed the air and grinned with his bloodied mouth. "I remember that scent. You've grown  
  
up, little brat. I wonder, will your flesh taste as sweet as your darling brother Andrew's?"  
  
A roar of primal rage poured forth from Facade. Her EM-holograms began to pound Sabertooth.  
  
Old tooth looked surprised that she had such power. But I knew that it wouldn't last long at the  
  
rate she was using up her caffeine supply. Even as I turned to charge Riptide's shirkens just  
  
before he threw them at us I saw Facade popping and dry-swallowing more caffeine pills.   
  
Unable to take the beating, Sabertooth and the cloned Riptide fled. Facade couldn't give chase  
  
though I could see she wanted to. At first I thought it was over. But then I heard Mar scream.  
  
Turning around I saw the poor girl being held tightly by her hair. Sinister yanked her up and  
  
punched her full in the face, smashing her nose and jaw. Just as soon as he did it slime began to  
  
pour out of her, covering Mar like a cocoon. Sinister lost his grip on her even as Aria charged  
  
him, smacking him right in the glowing jewel in his forehead. Of course it didn't do a bit of good,  
  
but it proved enough of a distraction for me to charge the ground under Sinister's feet and  
  
sending him flying. He slammed hard into a wall and it crumbled on top of him.  
  
When we cleared the rubble Sinister was gone.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ripdash sat beside me, staring at the green cocoon that held the injured Marguerite. Everyone  
  
was assigned to watch it, to speak to it. "Remy, I wish to talk to you."  
  
"Shoot, Rippy." She hated it when I called her that.   
  
There was a pause from the shaman. "I have to go tonight. The spirits of my ancestors command  
  
it. Pearl provides the money for this team, Geneva is my second in command - but - I am putting  
  
you in charge. I want you to take them away from here. Someplace where they'll be safer.  
  
Especially Geneva."  
  
"You honestly t'ink I'm gon leave dat woman behind, mon ami?" I gave Rip a side-long look.  
  
"I'll take de ones that want to go back to de X-Men. We can start rebuilding de team, finally."  
  
"They all have to go. I will tell them this. It is their destiny." Ripdash touched the cocoon. "She  
  
will come out when I leave. The spirits have told me this." Standing, Ripdash extended a hand to  
  
me, dropping into my lap an obsidian pendant with a 3-eyed falcon. "There will come a day when  
  
I need the X-Men to help me fulfill my destiny. When it comes, that pedant will summon you.  
  
You must come."  
  
"You know dat I will, Ripdash."  
  
Ripdash turned and began to walk away. Then paused and looked back to me. "And Remy. Take  
  
good care of Geneva."  
  
I looked up at Ripdash and we knew nothing more needed to be said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ripdash was right. As we packed up to go King shouted for us all to come to the infirmary. There  
  
on the table the cocoon had started to crack. Mar struggled inside and Cheryl produced a small  
  
dagger to help break it open.   
  
When Mar stepped out we all gasped in shock. Though she was still - for now - covered in slime  
  
and still had the mis-matched eyes, Marguerite, much like a caterpillar, had been reborn as a  
  
beautiful butterfly. She still had the slime talent, but now it didn't show on her skin unless she  
  
chose it to. Her hair was thick and lush, her skin clear, her body perfect.  
  
Yet, despite all this, she wasn't half as beautiful as Geneva. My heart swelled when I looked at  
  
her.   
  
The Blackbird appeared along with a couple of smaller jets. There just wasn't enough room for all  
  
the people and the stuff, so Pearl had bought Xavier extra jets even though he didn't need them. I  
  
over saw the loading of everything. Then the new students began to file in.   
  
"Where's Geneva?" Mar asked.   
  
I knew. Down by a little stream on the property was two graves. Geneva stood there, staring at  
  
them. Fresh flowers laid there.  
  
"How can I just leave them, Remy?" She whispered hoarsely before I could even speak. "They  
  
were more then my parents - they were my heros."   
  
I gently wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. "Chere, we'll come back any time you  
  
need too. Just - please, don' make me leave you behind." I pushed her back enough to make her  
  
look at me. "Geneva Doheny, I love you."  
  
Her voice cracked as she spoke, "I love you too, Remy LeBeau." The dam had burst and Gen fell  
  
into my arms, sobbing. Not out of grief, but joy. I cried too. Finally we found our way to the jets  
  
and boarded the Blackbird. Beast sitting behind the controls of this one. Psylocke was in the other  
  
and Wolverine in the third. As we began to lift off I heard the news that Jubilee had finally come  
  
out of her coma. There would be lots of intense therapy needed. Apparently, using Jean to block  
  
the memories, Scott had been molesting her the entire time. Now with them truly dead the  
  
memories came to the surface, which was why she had been in the coma so long.  
  
The X-Men would never be the same, but as I looked at these people and took Geneva's hand, I  
  
knew this was just another cocoon to break out of. Soon, with the help of this rag-tag group of  
  
"Geneva's Strays" the X-Men would be reborn.   
  
But best of all, my heart, my soul, my entire life was already reborn. Thanks to Geneva Doheny,  
  
who would soon be Geneva LeBeau.  
  
~~The End~~ 


End file.
